Uhlek
There is perhaps no greater tragedy known to Humankind than that of the ancient Leghk race, especially since their tale wasn't fully known until the crew of the I.S.S. Butterfish visited the Halls of Memory a million years in the past from 4640. This happened a full twenty years after another Interstel crew destroyed the Uhlek Brain World (α55x32, p2) and caused the complete disappearance of the Uhlek. The Uhlek race and the Leghk race are in fact one and the same. Native to the Delta Sector, the Leghk were a peaceful, benevolent race who held science and philosophy in the highest regard, and were therefore one of the most technologically advanced civilizations in the entire universe. Unfortunately, a being from another dimension known simply as "The Uhl" appeared in their territory a million years in the past, and began "possessing" the minds of the Leghk telepathically. A great war between the normal Leghk and the possessed Leghk ensued in which billions died, and in which the Leghk's vaunted faith in science ultimately failed them utterly. Attempts to save their civilization resulted in the formation of the Great Cloud Nebula and the formation of the Delta Sector Anomaly, which in turn led to the possession of the Umanu by the Uhl's offspring and the destruction of the Lowar civilization in 4242. Another attempt was the creation of the Uhl Weapon, which was lost before the Leghk could deploy it; although it weakened the Uhl's offspring considerably and contributed to its eventual destruction, the weapon ultimately failed to destroy the Uhl's offspring outright when it was finally used by the crew of the Butterfish. After completing the possession of the Leghk, the Uhl Leghk (or Uhlek, as they were now known), remained in the Delta Sector until 40,000 years ago, when the Crystal Planet passed through the Delta Sector. Migrating outward every 2000 years, the Uhlek entered the Alpha Sector as part of the Second Wave in 3400. Along with the Gazurtoid, they were directly responsible for the final fall of the Old Empire in 3480. They ultimately settled in the far outward expanses of the Sector, and remained there awaiting their next migration cycle until the destruction of the Brain World. Though they are native to the Delta Sector, they are generally considered an Alpha Sector race, as they were inhabitants of the Alpha Sector at the time they were first encountered by Arth starships. They may still be encountered by visiting the Delta Sector's past, though there are few reasons to do so now that both the Uhl (in the present time at least) and its offspring are no longer any threat. Basic Characteristics *''Type'': Cranioid *''Durability'': 5 *''Learning Rate'': 1 *''Science: Average *Navigation: Excellent *Tactical: Excellent *Engineering: Excellent *Communication: Poor *Medicine: Average * ''Genders: 1 * Life Stages: Adolescent at 7 years. Adult at 18 years. Middle age at 40 yrs. Old Age at 67 years. Venerable Age at 87 years. * Lifespan: 88+6d10 years. * Height: 1.4 meters; 0.98 + (1d5 x 0.14) m * Mass: 27 kilograms; 20.25 kg + ((same 1d5 from height + 1d5) x 1.35) kg *''Niche/Symmetry'': Omnivorous Bilateral Consumer *''Speed/Transit'': Floater, 8 m/rd (5 kph) *''Volume'': 0.03 m^3 *''HD'': 59/50/59 *''HP'': 50 *''Unarmed Damage'': 0 HP *''STV'': 17 MU (575 MU/m^3) Physical Description The Uhlek never communicated in any documented encounter, so no guess at their appearance or language was ever made. It was not until the crew of the I.S.S. Butterfish visited the Halls of Memory that a member of Leghk species was ever seen (technically, the Lowarian crew of the Elthar-Esh had done the same thing 400 years earlier, but they did not live to tell their tale). It can only be surmised that the Uhlek look the same as the Leghk. Since the Umanu were not appreciably different from Humans after their time under the Uhl's compulsion, it's a very plausible supposition. The Uhlek are a race of omnivorous floaters, approximately one to one and a half meters in height and weighing somewhere around thirty kilograms. They are best described as a race of greenish "floating heads", in that their bodies look like a humanoid head minus ears and a nose. They have two small, forward set eyes (usually yellow in color) and a large mouth through which the species takes in sustenance. Below the main portion of their body is a long, thin tentacle that is usually curled up into a spiral shape and serves as a motor appendage for grasping small objects. Uhlek have no hearing capability; when they communicated with the Leghk, the crew of the Butterfish reported seeing the Leghk speakers wearing special communication apparatuses on their head, which enabled normal communications. While the Leghk were an incredibly intelligent race with a moderate constitution, it's likely that millions of years of servitude to the Uhl have left them as a race of extremely durable automatons, with great physical ability but no independent learning ability whatsoever. Other information about the Uhlek, such as feeding and reproductive habits, are unknown; there simply was no time for the crew of the Butterfish to ask those kinds of questions. How they stay aloft and propel themselves is also an unsolved mystery; whether it is some form of electric or magnetic levitation or psychokinesis is unknown. Space Units Uhlek Cruiser Uhlek Dreadnought Ground Units This gives a general listing of the vehicles available to the given race. Engaging the ground units of a species in combat will have the same general effect on the player's relations with the species as engaging their units in space. The mineral composition of ground units will be the same as that listed for space units, though the amounts will be somewhat lessened. Indication of "turrets" for a ground unit allow the unit to fire a weapon in any direction; otherwise, the unit must face their target before they may attack another unit. Ground units always include a very generic description of how the unit will appear. Ground Units in general use the same ratings as space units, but have a few additional properties as outlined below: * Still need a response on energy. **''Melee'': An attack that can only be delivered when that object's collision area is touching the collision area of its target. **''Flat'': The speed/efficiency the unit travels on flat land. **''Mount'': The speed/efficiency the unit travels on steep mountains. This will likely be determined by rapid changes in planetary elevation, though the exact amount of elevation change necessary has not yet been determined. **''Liquid'' The speed/efficiency the unit travels on a liquid surface (possibly also including ice and cooling lava.) No Data Available at this time. Territory After taking three hundred years to move through the Alpha Sector, the Uhlek finally settled along its far outward edge, where they remained until the final destruction of the Uhlek Brain World in 4620. Everything outward of the x=30 parallel was located within the Uhlek spheres of influence. The Uhlek at one time maintained a "home planet" at α7x118, p7, though there was no Uhlek presence on that planet in the years immediately prior to their disappearance (it's thought that the planet mainly acted as a staging area for their fleets; certainly no Uhlek could've survived in the planet's toxic atmosphere for very long if they maintained most of their Leghk physiology). Additionally, seventeen star systems upspin of Spemin and Veloxi territory (roughly centered around α118x220) belonged to the Uhlek. The inter-sector flux to the Delta Sector is located in this upspin region, which probably explains why it took so long for any of the local starfaring races to discover it. After the destruction of the Brain World in 4620, the Uhlek simply disappeared, leaving their territory completely vacant. The Uhlek nowadays may only be encountered by taking the Delta Sector Anomaly to the past, where they control the vast majority of the Sector. The last ship to successfully visit any Leghk was the Buttershark in 4640; it's since been confirmed that the last free sane Leghk have committed mass suicide, as was reportedly their plan at the time. *'Patrol': **''Alpha Sector'': None **''Delta Sector'': Prominent (Past Only) **''Beta Sector'': None *'Space': **''Alpha Sector'': No Sphere of Influence **''Delta Sector'': (Past Only) centered at 159.75x140.4; 106.79 parsecs radius **''Beta Sector'': No Sphere of Influence *'Star': **''Alpha Sector'': None **''Delta Sector'': (Past Only) 126x139 **''Beta Sector'': None *'Worlds': **''Alpha Sector'': None **''Delta Sector'': (Past Only) Uhl (126x139, p2) **''Beta Sector'': None Status The Uhlek host species, the Leghk, were considered a benevolent and congenial species, who cared deeply about topics such as education, the arts and philosophy. The Dweenle often say that the Leghk were the only race they'd ever encountered that seemed to like them. Alas, this is not the case with the Uhlek, which are (or rather, were) hands down the most hated race in the entire cosmos. The closest thing the Uhlek had to an ally was the Gazurtoid, and they don't attack the Uhlek simply because they know the Uhlek can toast them (that, and they do such an exquisite job of eliminating air breathers in their own right). The extant races of the Delta Sector are more fortunate; to them, the Leghk are a legend, and the Uhlek are never mentioned implicitly (though the Arla have discovered that most ships travelling through the anomaly aren't destroyed by the anomaly passage itself, but rather by a hostile race living in the past, who they surmise can only be the Leghk). It is likely, however, that any Delta Sector race that would happen to encounter a live Uhlek would get the same treatment as Alpha Sector races (a fact confirmed by repeated Interstel and later Imperial forays into the past). *'Ally': **''Initial'': None **''Final'': None *'Enemy': **''Initial'': All **''Final'': All Economy *'Economic Status Levels': **Not Applicable; No Known Worlds *'Specialty Trade Goods Purchased': **None *'Specialty Trade Goods Sold': **None Supplemental Information The few races of the Alpha Sector that knew anything at all about the Uhlek described them as a collective being, autonomous and yet one being. This is partially true (from the perspective of the Uhlek remaining in the Delta Sector Past); while remaining individuals, their cognitive functions are handled by the vast lifeform known as the Uhl. The Uhlek serve as the Uhl's "immune system". The Uhl is made up of many ganglia that are connected by electromagnetic waves. The activities of sentient beings disrupt those waves and cause the Uhl pain, so the Uhl sent the Uhlek to eliminate the source of that pain (i.e. other forms of sentient life). This they do with cold efficiency. Uhlek show no mercy; anything that can't get away gets destroyed. They have never been observed in any social situations, so how they behave around each other remains a complete mystery. The Uhlek have a single motivation, and that is to protect the Uhl and to eliminate any threats to its existence. If the Uhl wants something destroyed, it is the responsibility of the Uhlek to destroy it at all cost. All other motivations and actions are secondary to this single overriding priority. If an individual Uhlek ever managed to escape from the control of the Uhl and follow their own destiny, history has failed to record it. Though the Empire could, at this point in history, easily take on the Uhlek and destroy the Uhl in the past, they do not do so for fear of causing a significant temporal paradox. Importance The Uhlek may be encountered if the player visits the Delta Sector Past; with the present plotline, the only reason why they would want to do so is to earn one of the Honor Markers needed to earn the Leghkian Sun Bomb (a mission-critical artifact) from the G'Nunk. Regardless of whether the player chooses to undergo that quest or not, the Uhlek's main function is to serve as a significant navigational hazard in the Delta Sector Past. With the plot currently being revised, it remains to be seen whether the Uhlek will have a larger part to play in the game or not. This section may be updated with little to no advance warning. Communication Text The Uhlek are a completely non-communicative race, at least in the verbal sense (one could argue they "communicate" their intent quite well through massive weapons vollies). The had no comm text in either SF1 or SF2, despite being present in both games. They should likewise have no text for SF3 whatsoever. ---- NEXT: Aeoruiiaeo PREVIOUS: Dershetche TOP ----